A large number of video screens or other display devices utilizing LEDs already exist in the marketplace. The normal method for constructing such display screens is to provide a plurality of LEDs mounted through a printed circuit board (PCB). Driving circuitry for the LEDs may be mounted on further boards or on the reverse side of the PCB to which the LEDs are mounted.
The PCB and LED combination are then typically mounted into a box such that the LEDs may protrude through holes in a front screen to display to the front of the display or be enclosed behind a transparent cover or lens.
It is a common problem in the industry that the use of a plurality of LEDs to provide a display generate significant heat from the LEDs themselves. As the LEDs are typically contained within a housing, the heat is usually drawn from the LEDs, through the PCB and distributed to the air behind the PCB. Of course, while the entire apparatus is contained in a larger housing, significant efforts in the form of fans, cooling systems, heat sinks or similar need to be employed behind the PCB to draw the heat from the rear of the PCB and exhaust this heat out of the back or sides of the screen.
Such a system requires either access to the external environment from the rear of the screen such as air circulating behind the screen housing or more complicated methods to remove the heat. Furthermore, display screens in this form are relatively bulky due to the accommodation of fans and cooling systems. They are also expensive due to the extra elements required and heavier when it comes to transportation or installation of the screens.
A further problem with such screens is that any maintenance or similar problems with the screen need to be dealt with through access panels in the back of the housing requiring access to the back of the panel.
The result of such problems is that display screens are typically constructed as standalone items so that access to both air and maintenance personnel can be maintained to the back of the screen. They cannot easily be mounted to an existing wall or other support structure without an air gap behind the housing or complex fitting arrangements to allow the screen to be rotated away from the wall or support structure for access to be gained for servicing.
Similar problems with heat may also exist with LED devices used for general lighting, automotive lights, traffic signal lights and other such devices. Again, a plurality of LEDs in a panel may generate significant heat leading to often-bulky constructions.